To accede means to agree to something or to give in to a request, often after some hesitation or resistance. When your parents finally accede to your request for a later bedtime, they're saying yes after you've made your case. When a city council accedes to citizens' demands for a new park, they're agreeing to move forward with the plan.

The word carries a sense of formal agreement or official consent. A principal might accede to a student's appeal about a grade. A company might accede to workers' requests for better safety equipment. Notice that acceding isn't quite the same as enthusiastically agreeing: it often suggests yielding to pressure or recognizing that the other side has a point, even if you had reservations at first.

The word can also mean to take on a position of power or authority. When a prince accedes to the throne, he becomes king. This meaning connects to the idea of moving forward into a new role or responsibility: you're stepping into something that was previously held by someone else.